Although English apple sales are tracking well ahead of last season in volume thanks to the record early start, Adrian Barlow, chief executive of English Apples & Pears warns against early season promotional price cuts lasting too long.
“The general financial situation is resulting in a lot of price pressure,” he warned. “We are happy with price promotion activity at this time of year provided that it is not too deep or does not go on for too long.”
Producers appreciate that consumers are under financial constraints, Barlow said, but made it clear that growers have their own cost structures to deal with. “It is important to be realistic; no one should be expecting English growers to absorb losses in order to get a better deal in the short term,” said Barlow. “Growers costs have gone up and at this point in the season they are lower than they will be later on when there will be the cost of long-term storage.”
Barlow stressed that prices need to be established at a level that can give growers the return they need to increase their long-term storage capacity. “We desperately need more storage capacity in the English industry,” he said. “There is the potential to increase production by 50 per cent but that will only be possible if we have the grading and storage facilities we need.”
No comments yet